What's Out There?

With such a vast amount of area, it seems nearly impossible to know everything that is in our universe.  To help with this search the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has been finding neutral atoms out in space since 2009.  IBEX has found interstellar hydrogen, helium, neon and oxygen coming from outside the heliosphere.  Can these atoms from outside be any sort of proof of life beyond our own?  What else will IBEX find and will these findings change our future?

The heliosphere is where the solar system resides.  As a result of the solar winds from the sun, we are surrounded by this protective bubble.  The solar winds are made of charged particles that are able to escape the suns gravity because of their higher energy and temperature.  These solar winds create a cavity-like area that has been named the heliosphere. 

(Artist interpretation of the heliosphere among other things; image from http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=3763)

IBEX is the first to discover the interstellar neutral atoms (ISNs) hydrogen, oxygen, and neon (Ulysses discovered helium first).  These atoms are "blown" into the heliosphere.  The movement of the heliosphere and everything within (including the solar system) causes the interstellar atoms to be "blown".  The ISNs are unaffected by the magnetic field of the heliosphere and that is why the atoms are called neutral.

Consisting of only two sensors and a control for them the instrumentation that IBEX has is minimal compared to other spacecrafts.  IBEX has a Combined Electronics Unit (CEU) that controls the two sensors, IBEX-Hi and IBEX-Lo.  The atoms enter the sensors to be read by IBEX.  Upon entering, the atoms meet a filter-like instrument called the collimator which excludes charged particles and excess light that the IBEX does not want to analyze.  The two sensors evaluate the velocity of the atoms to figure out what the energy of each particle is and by using these energies the team can understand what the particles may be.

(IBEX Spacecraft; image from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ibex/IBEXMediaTelecon1.html)

With the discovery of ISNs scientists can better understand the defensive bubble that surrounds us known as the heliosphere.  This bubble keeps us safe by deflecting dangerous cosmic rays from our surroundings.  It is important to understand the things that protect us in order to maintain that protection if needed.  I believe that the data gathered from IBEX will expand our knowledge of the unknowns of deep space and help us answer many of the questions that have yet to be answered about where we came from and how.